


it's a heart pounding night

by April (featherx)



Series: but in the end I will always come back to you [11]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 11:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10593306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/featherx/pseuds/April
Summary: Junmyeon sees his ex. It's a natural instinct to grab on to the girl sitting next to him. (Pretend relationship AU, past Krisho)





	

He’s at a bar when he sees Yifan with another guy and utterly _panics_ his pants off. Junmyeon switches seats and ends up sitting next to a girl who looks half-asleep, but in all honesty, he can’t care less. The only thing that matters, right here and now, is that _oh Christ Yifan is coming this way._

Junmyeon can’t even look his ex in the eye, because he _knows_ that’s a surefire way of getting him on his knees and maybe begging Yifan to leave, right now, before Junmyeon spontaneously combusts. It’s certainly one possible outcome, after all. But maybe if Yifan sees that he’s a bit _busy_ , he’ll go away, _right?_

The girl next to him looks a lot more interesting now.

“Hey, uh, miss? Excuse me?”

It takes another try to get her attention, but when she looks up from her drink groggily, Junmyeon can see the huge eye bags and the disgruntled, just-woke-up sort of look on her face. “Hey. What’s up? Do I know you?”

“I don’t know you, sorry,” Junmyeon apologizes, already feeling bad for what he’s trying to get her into. “But, uh, look – I need help, okay, m-my ex is here and I don’t want him to come here, so if you could just… play along for a bit…”

“Oh.” She blinks, still looking sleepy, like she hasn’t had more than two hours of sleep for the past week. With the way those eye bags seem to be dragging her actual eyes down, Junmyeon doesn’t doubt that possibility. “So, this is, uh… a pretend relationship, right? Just for a couple of minutes?”

“Yes, yes, that’s – perfect! Thank you so mu—”

“Hey, Junmyeon.”

Yifan’s silky smooth voice makes Junmyeon want to crawl into a hole and die, right now. If he could, he would, but he hasn’t found a way to dig a hole through solid wood, and he’d rather not have to pay for damage of public property if he can help it. Then he realizes that this entire inner monologue isn’t really doing him any good, so Junmyeon forces himself to look up and meet Yifan’s eyes.

He looks _fine_. There’s not a hint of sadness or lingering affection or whatever in those eyes, or even in his face. Yifan looks like the world couldn’t be better. If anything, he’s treating Junmyeon just like an old friend. “Hi, Yifan,” Junmyeon manages, mouth suddenly very, very dry. “Great to see you. It’s sure been a while.”

Yifan smiles. “Yeah, it has. Oh – Junmyeon, meet Zitao. Zitao, Junmyeon – my ex.” He smiles even wider, like introducing the current boyfriend to the ex isn’t a bad idea at all.

Junmyeon blinks and nods, shakes Zitao’s hand and tries not to think _he looks cuter and nicer and more Yifan’s type, doesn’t he_ to himself, because Yifan’s _not_ his anymore, nor should he get involved in any of his business – which brings him back to his original idea. “Nice to meet you. Ah, this is…” He gestured towards the girl next to him, and tries not to make the panic that washes over him _again_ too obvious.

Thankfully, the girl seems to get the idea, because she flashes them an unexpectedly winning smile and says, “Hey there. Name’s Max.” Then she swings an arm around Junmyeon’s neck and leans against him slightly, just enough that their arms touch and her hair tickles his cheek.

Junmyeon has to bite down on his tongue to keep himself from looking too uncomfortable. Not that the touch is _bad_ by any means, but he is letting a complete stranger do this. Then again, in her defense, this really is all his fault anyway.

Yifan looks somewhat uncharacteristically surprised, but he doesn’t let it show too much. It looks more like pleasant surprise, if anything, as he smiles politely again. “Anyway, just saw you here and wanted to say hi. We’ll be off now, Tao’s got an appointment – catch up soon!” And without really waiting for a goodbye, he and Zitao are off, talking with one another amicably.

Yifan’s eyes are all lit up when Junmyeon catches a glimpse of them. He throws his head back in a laugh, and Junmyeon has to turn away so he doesn’t remember how Yifan had looked when they were still together.

Max is silent for a second, before she takes a huge swig of her drink. It doesn’t look like beer, and Junmyeon wonders what she’s actually drinking before he realizes it’s freaking water. In a bar. She’s drinking water in a bar, and Junmyeon probably couldn’t have picked anyone weirder for that stupid pretend-girlfriend role. “So, ex, huh? You wanna talk about it or something?

Junmyeon tries for a nonchalant shrug, but he just ends up looking like a robot learning human behavior for the first time. “Things just didn’t work out, I guess. Our work schedules always conflicted, so we never had time for each other, and we sort of just…” He makes a vague gesture with his hands. “Fell apart.”

“Sounds tough.” Max pours herself another glass of water. Junmyeon tries not to make his staring look too obvious, but Max catches him and laughs lightly. “You’re probably thinking what I’m doing, drinking water in a bar, huh.” It’s not a question.

“I-I just—”

“Hey, it’s fine.” She drinks her water again, sets the glass back down on the counter with an audible _clink_. “I don’t hold alcohol well. And I’d rather stay healthy and whatever than forget everything and get drunk off my ass.” A pause. “You’re not alone. I broke up with someone recently, too.”

“Oh, uh… sorry to hear it.”

Max waves him off. “It’s fine. It wasn’t the best relationship ever, anyway. Toxic as all hell, almost as bad as these other girls I knew back in high school…” She trails off, expression going dark, before she shakes her head and the gloom fades slightly. Then she looks up at him, curious. “Junmyeon – ah, that’s your name, right?”

He tries for a smile, and surprisingly, it comes a little quicker. “Kim Junmyeon. It’s nice to meet you…?” He knows her name perfectly well, but it’d be impolite if they haven’t properly introduced themselves to each other yet, right?

“Max Robinson.” She shakes his hand, drinks more water, gives the bar a cursory look. “Honestly, Junmyeon, I think my ex is lurking around here somewhere, too. Since I helped you out, can you lend the damsel in distress a hand when it comes to it? I don’t even wanna look that jerk in the eye.”

Junmyeon smiles. He’s not _that_ keen on getting into a relationship so soon after seeing Yifan again, but a pretend-relationship with a possible new friend can’t hurt. “Hey, of course. People like us gotta stick out for one another and stuff, right?”

Max grins at him, and this time, it’s a little less melancholy. “Got that one right. I like you already, Kim Junmyeon.”


End file.
